Apparently, he saved the best for last or "V stands for Victory" as on June 22, Briggs announced he would be a Virginia Cavalier.

Thanks to anyone and everyone involved in recruiting me, but you can’t just step over a field of diamondsI know that this decision is the best one I can possibly makeI’m proud of it.I’ve never smiled so brilliantly on a tripsI’m committedLet’s go ⁦@Coach_Sooto⁩💪🏾🤙🏾 pic.twitter.com/GOb9NFgHjE

You can't step over a field of diamonds? That's what Briggs wrote on Twitter when committing to the Cavaliers.

"Recruiting is kind of like a business, if I don't want to go somewhere, they'll probably find a guy that can go somewhere and do it," Briggs said.

Virginia defensive line coach Vic So'oto was up front with Briggs, telling him they had two defensive line commits and they would probably take one more. Briggs appreciated the honesty he wasn't hearing at other places.

"There were things I never saw on any other campus," Briggs said of his visit to Charlottesville. "There were things I never did, interactions I never made with any other people at other campuses, meeting with professors and things like that. It was all just rare things in my eyes."

So instead of putting recruiting on the backburner, Briggs pulled a No. 72 Virginia jersey on and made the call.

"You never really have things fit perfectly," Briggs said. "I feel like I'd be the perfect fit there for football, also academically and also extracurricular."

Extracurricular could mean things like drama or singing. Briggs was once part of a Cappie Award-winning performance of "Ragtime" at Walnut Hills. His main function at Virginia will be bringing down quarterbacks in syncopated rhythm to the turf.

"He's a great kid all the way around," Walnut Hills coach Gerry Beauchamp said. "He gets involved in as many things as possible. Football's his No. 1 thing. He doesn't miss lifting or football for anything. But, on top of football, he's a thrower in track, he participates in drama whether it be set design or actually singing and acting, he comes from a musically-talented family."

At 6-3 and 295 pounds, Briggs is still a young senior (not yet 17). However, for most in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, he is a man and is often double-teamed. His last recorded squat in the weight room was over 700 pounds.

"He's one of the strongest kids I've ever coached at the high school level," Beauchamp said. "We were very thin last year. He was in a situation where he went both ways for us. That's tough to do, especially up front."

Briggs has been a two-time ECC first team lineman for the Eagles. He led Walnut Hills in tackles and sacks last season (63 and 3, respectively) and sometimes even filled in at fullback to plow a hole. 247Sports rates him the No. 2 player in Ohio and the No. 5 defensive tackle in the country.

Buy Photo

Jowon Briggs (72) of Walnut Hills (on ground) pulls down Turpin's Nathan Hooper for a loss, September 23.(Photo: Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer)

Beauchamp projects a big year for Briggs as he now can have him focus on defense. At Virginia, he'll be a part of the Cavaliers interior defensive line.

"He just went up there on a visit and had started a great relationship with that staff already," Beauchamp said. "I think everything just felt right. They must have done all the right things and he saw everything he was looking in a school."

Virginia is ranked No. 3 according to U.S News and World Report among public universities and Briggs, who will major in computer science, embraces the challenge of Atlantic Coast Conference academics and athletics.

"As far as playing, there's always competition," Briggs said. "I'm not just going to go there and be given a spot. That's fine with me. What's the use of going there and being given something instead of working for it?"

Next up for Briggs is improving Walnut Hills who was 3-7 last season, then Virginia who was 6-7 in 2017 with an appearance in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland.